Wife was just naturalized and now wants to sponsor her parents. Do I have to sign?

[XM148 8]

My wife was just naturalized as a US Citizen. She doesn't work, I am the sole bread winner. Long story short I pretty much got scammed and taken advantage of by her.  She was just naturalized as a US Citizen two weeks ago. She now wants to sponsor her parents to come to the US from China. 

 

If she decides to sponsor her parents, will I be required to sign the affidavit of support?   If she signs it, will I still be responsible for the support since we are married? 

[SalishSea 17,801]

3 minutes ago, XM148 said:

My wife was just naturalized as a US Citizen. She doesn't work, I am the sole bread winner. Long story short I pretty much got scammed and taken advantage of by her.  She was just naturalized as a US Citizen two weeks ago. She now wants to sponsor her parents to come to the US from China. 

 

If she decides to sponsor her parents, will I be required to sign the affidavit of support?   If she signs it, will I still be responsible for the support since we are married? 

Nope.   And now that she’s a USC, you’re off the hook for her I-864.

 

Are you divorcing?   You’ll need a good lawyer, but not related to immigration, as that chapter is done.

[XM148 8]

6 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Nope.   And now that she’s a USC, you’re off the hook for her I-864.

 

Are you divorcing?   You’ll need a good lawyer, but not related to immigration, as that chapter is done.

 

Yes but if she signs the i-864 for her parents, she has no income (besides mine). When I signed for her I had to provide a bunch of financial documentation. Wife is not on any of my accounts. How would I not be responsible for it if she signs while we are married?

 

Not currently divorcing. 

[powerpuff 6,675]

4 minutes ago, XM148 said:

 

Yes but if she signs the i-864 for her parents, she has no income (besides mine). When I signed for her I had to provide a bunch of financial documentation. Wife is not on any of my accounts. How would I not be responsible for it if she signs while we are married?

 

Not currently divorcing. 

If she asks you to be a joint sponsor just say no. And don’t provide any documents and don’t sign anything. That’s about it.

Edited December 6, 2022 by powerpuff

[Crazy Cat 41,805]

 

18 minutes ago, XM148 said:

 

Yes but if she signs the i-864 for her parents, she has no income (besides mine). When I signed for her I had to provide a bunch of financial documentation. Wife is not on any of my accounts. How would I not be responsible for it if she signs while we are married?

 

Not currently divorcing. 

She cannot solely sponsor her parents without sufficient current income or assets.  She will have to find a willing, qualified joint sponsor. She has the right, as an American citizen, to petition her parents.  

Edited December 6, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[XM148 8]

6 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

 

She cannot solely sponsor her parents without sufficient current income or assets.  She will have to find a willing, qualified joint sponsor. She has the right, as an American citizen, to petition her parents.  

The issue I'm concerned with since we are married a lot of my assets are now considered hers even though she isnt on the accounts. She is still on the tax return

[Boiler 45,441]

2 minutes ago, XM148 said:

The issue I'm concerned with since we are married a lot of my assets are now considered hers even though she isnt on the accounts. She is still on the tax return

I would imagine she will get a job or find a joint sponsor.

[powerpuff 6,675]

20 minutes ago, XM148 said:

The issue I'm concerned with since we are married a lot of my assets are now considered hers even though she isnt on the accounts. She is still on the tax return

That doesn’t sound like an immigration issue.

 

here is the scenario:

- she files for her parents

 

- Time comes to submit financial documents to NVC. She is the primary sponsor and will always remain the primary sponsor even if her income is $0 because it is her parents she’s sponsoring. She will have to submit her I-864 but won’t have any proof of income.

 

- NVC will issue an RFE and request a joint sponsor.

 

- she will come to you and ask to be a joint sponsor and for you to fill out a I-864. You say “no thanks”

 

End of story. She will have find another joint sponsor or her parents will not get a visa. And you never signed (hence never agreed) to be a joint sponsor so I don’t see what the worry is about. Sounds like solely her own problem to figure out 
 

 

 

[XM148 8]

4 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

That doesn’t sound like an immigration issue.

 

here is the scenario:

- she files for her parents

 

- Time comes to submit financial documents to NVC. She is the primary sponsor and will always remain the primary sponsor even if her income is $0 because it is her parents she’s sponsoring. She will have to submit her I-864 but won’t have any proof of income.

 

- NVC will issue an RFE and request a joint sponsor.

 

- she will come to you and ask to be a joint sponsor and for you to fill out a I-864. You say “no thanks”

 

End of story. She will have find another joint sponsor or her parents will not get a visa. And you never signed (hence never agreed) to be a joint sponsor so I don’t see what the worry is about. Sounds like solely her own problem to figure out 
 

 

 

Thanks for the explanation. My concern was she would obtain a copy of our tax return from the IRS and use that for proof of income.

[Boiler 45,441]

That would not be proof of her income

[powerpuff 6,675]

3 minutes ago, XM148 said:

Thanks for the explanation. My concern was she would obtain a copy of our tax return from the IRS and use that for proof of income.

It’s not proof of current income. You would need to supply that with current proof such as pay stubs and employment letter. You said yourself that when you petitioned her you had to submit a bunch of stuff, I assume that entailed more than tax returns.

[XM148 8]

2 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

It’s not proof of current income. You would need to supply that with current proof such as pay stubs and employment letter. You said yourself that when you petitioned her you had to submit a bunch of stuff, I assume that entailed more than tax returns.

Yes you are correct, I did have to submit a bunch of paperwork. Thank you for lowering my stress level!

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, XM148 said:

The issue I'm concerned with since we are married a lot of my assets are now considered hers even though she isnt on the accounts. She is still on the tax return

Some people do use assets to sponsor an immigrant (my husband used his assets to sponsor me). 

If your wife wants to use YOUR INCOME or ASSETS in YOUR NAME- she needs your consent. 

 You would have to complete an I-864 A and then give her proof of assets/ income.

If you do not complete the forms or provide the documents your wife cannot use anything in your name. 

 

If your wife's parents are currently in China, you don't have to worry about the financial support issue for about 1 year. If she wants to file for them, she can and if she wants to sponsor them she should consider getting a job so she has sufficient income in 12 months when she is asked to submit the I-864. 

 

[Demise 1,277]

4 hours ago, XM148 said:

 

Yes but if she signs the i-864 for her parents, she has no income (besides mine). When I signed for her I had to provide a bunch of financial documentation. Wife is not on any of my accounts. How would I not be responsible for it if she signs while we are married?

 

Not currently divorcing. 

The I-864 you signed went poof the moment she naturalized. Financially speaking she's no longer your problem, she can go on welfare and Uncle Sam can't do anything to you.

 

When it comes to her parents if you chose not to sign either an I-864 or I-864A then she can get a job or get someone else to cosign, but you do not have to nor will you be liable for her parents if you chose not to. If you don't sign and she tries to use your joint tax return as evidence of income, without your I-864 or I-864A they will most likely ask her for a W2. Even if they do somehow accept it they won't be able to come after your assets.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Demise

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

1. I suggest u speak frankly with your wife now and tell her your feelings and listen to hers
2. Where does she think her parents will live?   with You?
3. Is she willing to have an outside job to pay the petition fees and support them?
4. this is a lot to handle if u don't agree but don't do something that u are not comfortable doing
5. for 2022 file MFS